Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Where are my breeches? Library War Service, 1918

I recently came across a packet of correspondence related to uniform problems of a worker in the WWI ALA Library War Service. The 1918 correspondence involved Alvin W. Clark at the Camp Sevier South Carolina Library, the ALA Library War Service Headquarters in Washington, DC, and the contractor engaged by ALA to provide uniforms. The gist of the matter relates to the fact that Clark was entitled to two pairs of breeches for his uniform and he only received one pair. Further, the measurements for the first pair were not satisfactory, and finally according to Clark the leggings he received “have now become creased or wrinkled in two or three places and consequently they look bad”. Poor guy. The letter above from LWS Executive Director George B. Utley, who was simultaneously ALA’s Executive Director, advises Clark of how he can correct his problems. Interesting example of the practical logistics involved in the operation of ALA’s Library War Service.